Matrix and method of forming same.



No. 891,499. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

y L. E. MORNIVNGSTAR.

MATRIX AND METHOD'OP FORMING SAME.

APPLIOATIQN FILED OUT. 15, 1906. v

"133 ha mom- I gin-undo; 04044 %/M4; 02:

LESLlE MORNINGSTAR, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGN'OR OF ONE-HALF TOROBERT H. BULLARD, EDGAR R. BIJLLARD, AND REUBEN J. BULLARD, .l'R.,OFWHE ELING,

WEST VIRGINIA.

MATRIX AND WTHOD OF FQRMING SAME.

fipeoification of Letters Patent.

' Patented June 23, 1908. I

Application filed Octoberlb, 1806. Serial No. 389,059.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, LEsLIE E. MORNING- STAR, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of WestVir 'nia, have invented certain new and other work requiring despatch int e relief portions which may be readily de ressed.

production of sketches and the like, and anotherobject being thereduction of the out with stippled or screenike surfaceeither'forbackground printing or to give a half-tone effect to the reproduction.

The invention, therefore consists in forming a'matrix, sheet preferablyof cardboard or other sheet of substantiall like surface andcompressible texture, and minutely in dcnting or corrugating the surfacethereof by. compression, so as to leave a comparatively soft surfaceformed of the uncompacted're-I and compacted without spreading, t us notonly admitting of the drawing of a picture in depressions, on the" sheetdirect, or from a pencil sketch or tracing made on the surface,

- or from a type, or cut by impressin the same thereon, out securingthe, stipple effect in its reprodigction. I

In the accom anying drawing illustrating the invention: igure 1represents the matrix sheet prepared in accordance with the inventionand impressed with a picture, and, Fig.- 2 is an enlarged transversesection taken through a portion of the impressed shee'ton tho line :rw.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 1 indicates the matrix sheetwhich isformcd preferably of thick-paper, the object being to provide astiff and tenacious sheet. of material susceptible of readysurface-oompres'sion to form a matrix thereof, and at the same timeadapted to compact within the area compressed without materiallyspreadin For the purpose of eliminatin any liability toward thespreading of the s set and to provide the'typc or cut formed from thewithout a ectin matrixwith a stippled or screen-like surface,

the matrix sheet is initiall provided with a stippled or corrugated surace 2 by means of a steel plate or die having on its face minuteprojections of'uniform extension, preferably. of conical cross section,and about one sixt fourth of an inch apart, and which by minute yindenting the sheet fQrm an uncompacted soft relief surface made upofthe minutely raised portions 3, as shown more clearly in the enlargedsection, Fig. 2, while the conical pits formed by the 'proiection of theplate. will have a compacted ottorn surface and terminate at a uniformdepth in'p'oints or lines. In forming this surface the die is applied tothe sheet while the sheet is in the dry state so that the result ofthedie compression will be as stated above, the soft surface ofthe sheetthereby yielding uniformly to com-. pression b a stylus or othernstrument the base of the stip leformi its; pen the matrix sheet t usforme t e artist is provided with a surface upon which a picture can bedrawn in the first instance w th pencil or crayon, and then with'astylus the lines in the drawing can be pressed to the depth of therecesses or indentations made by the steel plate, the soft projectingportion 3 readily compactin under the; pressure without filing in or canging the indentations adjacent the lines (if depression so that'thetype or out formed upon the matrix sheet will print a uniform stippledor lined surface and reduce the well known face of the matrix sheet areso email and close together that the artist can draw a design as freelythereonas entire surface of any ordinaryrough paper and thus can me ethe,

and then press the first outline of his'drawing d h d n ept 'an it wilines down to the desire be obvious that impressions can be also takenon this matrix sheet from type-forms, and that a' portrait, picture ordrawing ma be reproduced on the matrix sheet by any 0 the Well knownmethods of tracing, as by means of a carbon'sheet, the lines of thetracing being depressed in the mannpr set forth.*-

The matrix sheet above described is placed in a stereotype box-and metalpoured in upon it in the same manner as in casting from an ordinarymatrix, the same kind of metal and the same degree of heat beingemployed as now generally practiced in this art. the metal has cooledsufficiently the casting box is opened and the matrix sheet can then befreely removed and be ready for further use.

Matrix sheets having minute indentations for the purpose of producing astri pled or screen effect are not new, as a relie surface has beenformed on a matrix sheet by the use of material which under compressionwill disintegrate and be cut out of the sheet or else spread andcompacted within indentations in t e sheet, but it will be seen that thepresent invention employs a material which does not disintegrate but isof a fibrous texture and compacts Within the same area occupied in itssoft or uncompacted condition and by formed by compacting the materialof the reason of this initial compaction to form the stipple pits auniform and clear cut stip led relief is made possible in the rintinglate formed from such a matrix, w ile the ra ing in depression thereonis greatly facilitate by the initial depression of so much of thesurface of the sheet and the hardening of the extend.

What-I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A matrix sheet formed of compressible material of non-disintegratingnature, and

sheet'at the depth to which the depressions having its molding surfacestipplei l or liried in depression to a uniform dept 1, as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. A matrix sheet formed of compressible material, of non-disintegratingnature having material, having portions'of'its mol ing sur-- facecompacted to rovide minute recesses of uniform depthto orm dots or linesin the printing plate to be molded therefrom, the relief portions ofsaid molding surface being of uncompacted material, as and for the purpose set orth.

4. The method herein described for forming a matrix sheet, whichconsists in first producing upon a sheet a field of stipples or ines indepression, said depressions being sheet whereby it will leave anuncompacted reliefsurface between the de ressions, and then forming thedesign desire in depression uponithe relief surface so formed, as andforthe purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of at two subscribing witnesses.

L. E. MORNINGSTAR. Witnesses:

R. J. MCCULLAGH, JOHN S. OBERHOLTZER.

